I-195 provides a major direct highway route from New York to Cape Cod via I-95 through Providence as well as for travelers coming from Connecticut, western Massachusetts and other Rhode Island points. Its major junction with I-95 in Downtown Providence provides a direct connection, since improved with the section in downtown Providence being replaced and moved to the south to lie just south of the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier.

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I-195 begins at I-95 at a semi-directional T interchange, known as the Iway Project. The road begins concurrent with US Route 6 (US 6). From there it continues across the Providence River via the Providence River Bridge where it picks up US 44 and US 1A. The road continues into East Providence and all three roads respectively leave the freeway. From there it enters Seekonk, Massachusetts and continues east to Fall River where it has a brief concurrency with Route 24. It then continues through southeastern Massachusetts passing through New Bedford where it has an interchange with Route 140. From there it turns northeast and ends at I-495 and Route 25 with a trumpet interchange.

Fox Point Boulevard, later George M. Cohan Boulevard, was a surface boulevard connecting the Washington Bridge west to the Point Street Bridge and downtown Providence. It was built with no cross traffic by using U-turn ramps in the median to reverse direction. This was the last part in Providence to be built as a freeway, opened in December 1968.

The first freeway section came off the west end of Cohan Boulevard and over the Providence River, ending at the one-way pair of Pine Street and Friendship Street, which opened in November 1958. The ramp to Pine Street has been closed, but the entrance from Friendship Street still exists. The I-95 interchange at this end opened in fall 1964; the Pine Street ramp was kept for a while.

The next section to be constructed was the part in East Providence. It opened to the last exit before the state line on December 15, 1959, and was extended into Massachusetts by August 1960.

Before the Interstate Highway System numbering was decided upon, I-195 was planned as a relocation of US 6; in fact, all but the last section was signed as US 6 when built (the first section only eastbound though). In 1957, the number Interstate 95E was assigned, as all intercity routes were numbered before the three-digit Interstate numbering was chosen, and the Providence-New Bedford route was too long to be considered intracity. The I-195 designation was assigned in 1959 with the final numbering. At some time after 1976, the definition of I-195 was extended east to I-495 (which was itself extended).

I-195 still carries US 6, now in both directions, from I-95 to the last interchange before Massachusetts. It also carries US 1A and US 44 over the Washington Bridge and its approaches, though the former has almost no signs.

The Providence River Bridge, prior to being demolished due to realignment of Interstate 195, carried traffic to its western terminus with Interstate 95.

I-195's stretch through Providence was reconstructed because of sharp curves and the way the road cuts through part of the city. The relocation made the segment safer for traffic, reunified the Jewellery District with Downcity Providence, and freed up more space. In the process, some 35 buildings, housing over 80 businesses and six residences were demolished.[2] The new stretch of highway is called the Iway by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation and includes a signature bridge over the Providence River[3] as well as a landscaped pedestrian walkway over the highway. It connects India Point Park to the Fox Point neighborhood. The IWay was opened in 2009 and estimated to have cost $446 million. The demolition of the old road is to be completed by 2012.[4]